4 signs of Spiritual Maturity

Are you spiritually mature? And what exactly is spiritual maturity?

I’ll start by defining: Spiritual maturity is achieved by becoming more like Jesus. It is a process that begins when a person accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and savior. Simply put, it is being mature spiritually, not a physical growth, but a spiritual growth that reflects in your attitude, behavior and character.

The Christian faith is likened to that of a child. He that has the Son of God has life. If you are born you must grow. So also, if you are born again you have the potentiality to grow in the Christian faith.

Is Spiritual Maturity by the number of years you’ve spent in the church? Or by age?

Spiritual maturity has nothing to do with the number of years you have been born again or by your physical age. You can be advanced in age but still be spiritually young or a baby in Christ.

How do I know I’m growing in my Christian experience?

Here are five signs that show a person is spiritually mature;

NOTE: In the Christian experience, no one is fully grown. It is until you meet with the master face to face.

1. Mature Christians make every effort to build on their faith: He/she is not complacent. There is a zeal, a hunger, a thirst. He/she wants to grow. He is never satisfied with what he has achieved. Growing here means be intimate with God. It is a hunger for intimacy with God.

 Psalm 42:1 : As the dear pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (NIV)

During prayer session he does not boast. A lot of times we take God’s grace for granted and misbehave in his presence. A mature Christian is truthful to God. There is humility.

What kind of relationship do you have with God?

2 Peter 1: 5-9 : To your faith add virtue (character); and to your virtue, knowledge (How much of the bible do you know?); add to your knowledge temperance, (self-control); and to temperance, patience (perseverance); and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness (how do you address and relate to people?); and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measures, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is near-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

2. Mature Christians are slow to hold on to grudges and quick to forgive: This is because there is something in them that condemn their conscience to hold grudges against others. The mature Christian learns to consciously forgive others to release the burden and break free from the chains of not forgiving.

You are punishing yourself holding a grudge

3. Mature Christians stop pointing out everyone else’s sins and start confessing their own: Stop being a spiritual police to others and look inward (at yourself).

The change you want in others should actually begin with you!

Matthew 7:1-5 : “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (NIV)

4. Mature Christians watch their words and they know when not to speak: A lot of times we lose control and say relevant and irrelevant words. It is not every discussion that you contribute to. If you say all that is in your heart, you will talk anyhow.

How do you talk?

Ephesians 4:29 : Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helping for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit all those who listen.

Be mindful how you crack jokes

NOTE: This is not to say that there are only four signs that mark spiritual maturity, there are probably others. These only the ones I’m aware of.